Former Manchester United defender Raphael Varane finally called time on his illustrious career soon after leaving the Red Devils and was recently talking about his time spent at Old Trafford.
The Frenchman, a four-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid, decided to jump ship from the Bernabeu to the Theatre of Dreams in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s final season in charge in the hopes of winning silverware in England.
And while his debut season was nothing to write home about, the World Cup winner did eventually clinch the Carabao Cup and FA Cup under Erik ten Hag before leaving for Como last summer only to retire soon after.
Most fans would remember how the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson tried to the sign the former France international back when he was an up-and-comer at Lens only for Varane to join Los Blancos instead.
Varane on his United spell
But he never truly forgot the 20-time English league champions and eventually did decide to play for the three-time European champions.
And in a podcast with current Real Madrid ace Aurélien Tchouaméni, the 31-year-old explained the rationale behind his decision to leave Madrid for Manchester.
Tchouaméni, himself has been linked with a move to United in the past, and he asked his compatriot his reasoning for making the move to Old Trafford.
“It was actually a long process. It’s not like you wake up in the morning and say I want to leave. In 2018, I won everything; in fact, we celebrated our fourth Champions League title quickly. It was like a normal thing, the next step is to win the Champions League and think about the next one,” Varane was quoted as saying by Sport Witness.
“Then I won the World Cup and I said to myself, I’ve done it all. There came a point in my life where I restructured myself, reviewed some things regarding my career management, and said to myself, I need to keep feeling emotions, I need something different.
Agent Varane?
“Madrid is indescribable, it’s exceptional, but I’ve already experienced it. And I said to myself, I want to experience something else. For me, England, and Manchester in particular, is where you feel the passion for football, you feel it, you live it every day. Now that some time has passed, I have no regrets because it was an incredible experience.”
The legendary centre-back’s description of his time in Manchester shows that despite his somewhat brief three-year stint, he still holds the club in high regard.
Tchouaméni is only 25 and has not always enjoyed the best of times in Madrid despite the club’s success. And his senior’s answers could paint a favourable picture of the Red Devils in his mind.
Varane might have quit the game but Agent Varane seems still at work! Given Ruben Amorim’s need for midfield reinforcements, the club could potentially look at the current French international described as an “extraordinary” talent.
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
